We have seen the multi-billion dollar communications market get disrupted as the phone met the IP network. In the video below Phil Edholm describes how with WebRTC, the phone meets the web. As he describes, even though IP communications has been around for more than a decade, there hasn’t been a fundamental change in how we communicate. We still hang our phones off servers which allow communications to take place. Now, every web browser will become a multimedia communications engine, allowing browsers to communicate to other browsers directly. This is a totally new way of working – I like to refer to it as putting the power of an open-Skype into every browser.

Phil believes WebRTC will change communications the way the web changed the way information is shared. In other words – you can communicate very easily with others – without the need for continuous and central command and control.

As you may know, Edholm was Vice President of Technology Strategy and Innovation for Avaya GCS and previously the CTO/CSO for Nortel Enterprise Solutions. He knows the industry well and has been a past keynoter at ITEXPO. TMC has partnered with him and Crossfire Media to launch a new conference called WebRTC EXPO in order to educate the world on the power of this new technology.

Here is a partial list of people who should attend the event and why, according to Phil. The last one is my addition:

Enterprise IT: How will WebRTC integrate or even potentially replace your unified communications systems? Will you need to integrate WebRTC into your contact center to more fluidly communicate with current and potential customers?

Carriers: The implications of every browser allowing for rich communications to impact your business model can’t be overstated. In short, the pace of communications disruption continues. The simple question is, “Will you be driving or under the steamroller?”

Website owners: Does the addition of communications to the browser change your business model? How do you benefit from WebRTC? Can you use it to add value or generate more revenue for example?

Developers: This is a ground floor opportunity to change the world by writing new and innovative applications which weren’t possible before.

Investors: The entire phone network has just come under increasing pressure as a result of WebRTC. Moreover, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and other companies with large reach have the ability to become their own phone network overnight.

WebRTC Expo takes place in South San Francisco, Nov 27-29, 2012 with keynotes from Plantronics and Thrupoint. We hope to see you there.